Every other year, Population and Societies publishes a special issue called The Population of the World, presenting an overall picture of the situation
across the globe. There were around 7.3 billion humans on the planet in 2015. The world population has risen seven-fold over the last two hundred years and
may well reach 11 billion by the end of the twenty-first century.

Myanmar’s first census in more than 30 years: A radical revision of the official population count

Thomas Spoorenberg

According to official statistics, Myanmar had a population of 61 million in 2012. These figures were obtained using population projections based on the
most recent census conducted in 1983. A new population census conducted in Myanmar in April 2014 shed light on the extent of recent demographic changes in
the country. Confirming the distinctive childbearing behaviour of Myanmar women and the scale of international migration, these new census data reveal that
the population is 15% smaller than indicated by earlier official estimates.

Fertility seems to be less affected by the economic crisis in France than in most other developed countries. Is French fertility behaviour immune to the
effects of unemployment? Analysing data from the ERFI survey (the French variant of the Generations and Gender Survey), which interviewed respondents three
times between 2005 and 2011, Ariane Pailhé and Arnaud Loilier, show that unemployment does in fact influence fertility intentions and their
realization.

The National Transfer Accounts method is used to quantify economic transfers between ages. During their working years, individuals usually produce more
than they consume. The opposite occurs during their youth and retirement, when their consumption is financed by a redistribution of resources between ages.
From 1979 to 2011, the period of life when income from work is higher than consumption grew shorter in France. Consumption profiles shifted to the
advantage of the elderly, who now consume more in relative terms than younger cohorts.

Who visits dating sites in France? And who uses them to find a partner?

Marie Bergström

Dating sites arouse curiosity, and the use of dating services is, for the first time, becoming a widespread practice in France. They have not redefined the
geography of romantic encounters, however, as most couples, and first couples especially, still meet in other ways.

The population of France has grown by more than half over the last 70 years and has increased in age. While the number of deaths should logically have
risen, two factors explain why it has remained practically constant throughout the period: the increase in life expectancy, and the entry into extreme old
age of the depleted cohorts born during the First World War. Their disappearance and the ageing of the large baby boom cohorts will push up the number of
deaths in the coming years.